Editor’s note — Recently we invited readers to send in their nominations for “Herald Heroes,” an effort to recognize the heroics of people doing great things behind the scenes. We then pursued the nearly impossible task of winnowing the list to five finalists and one winner among them. In the coming weeks, we will feature a different finalist each Sunday, acknowledging the good work they’ve contributed on behalf of our community and finishing with a feature on our winning Herald Hero, who will receive a $500 award.

PACIFIC GROVE >> Julie Kelly has spent the past 30 years teaching, 11 in Pacific Grove as a transition kindergarten and kindergarten teacher. While the school day at Robert Down Elementary School ends at the bell, Kelly has taken the initiative to stay involved in her students’ lives outside of the classroom.

“She builds deep relationships with families by attending students’ extracurriculars, offering rides (even to urgent care for a parent), organizing meal trains, volunteering to babysit, joining a running race and always being there when needed. Whether it’s inviting everyone over to trick-or-treat or attending monthly moms’ night out events, Julie ensures everyone feels supported,” said Bonnie Post in her nomination for Kelly.

“Her advocacy for students, mentorship of new teachers, and contributions to school committees all reflect her commitment to a better community. Julie’s unwavering commitment to others, both in and out of the classroom, makes her not just an outstanding teacher, but a remarkable person and hero.”

Kelly always knew she wanted to be a teacher. As a kid, she would play school and always loved school. She said it was really important for her to give back and be part of other kids’ education.

“They teach me to let the little things go and just be able to focus on them and be able to be a part of their world. So I think the primary thing is I just love being around kids,” she said. “I think that they’re just a fun energy and they just see the world through these great lenses of just everything being awesome.”

While Kelly has primarily taught kindergarten, she has taught a little bit of everything.

“I worked at a safe house in Sacramento for girls who were underage, sex trafficked and I wrote curriculum for them … so they could be safe and do basically a homeschool on site,” she said. “I also taught in the classroom. I taught fourth grade, and I also taught remedial college mathematics. So I’ve kind of been a little bit of everything.”

In kindergarten, Kelly’s students do everything you’d expect. They paint, color, learn executive functioning skills, language arts, math, social studies and science.

“The most important thing we learn is how to make the world a better place,” said Kelly.

Kelly’s favorite part of her day-to-day teaching is the dance parties. She pulls out bubble machines, disco lights and puts on music for the kids.

“They really like freestyle. So that’s a dance where they just all get to show their moves,” she said.

Kelly’s love of teaching runs in her family — her son, Will, is a kindergarten teacher in Riverside. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kelly and her son collaborated with one another and teach each other’s classes.

“We did Wacky Will, and he would do directed drawings and put these funny glasses on where the eyeballs pop out. And then I would go on his Zooms later in the afternoon and do science with his kids,” she said.

Having a personal connection with her students is important to Kelly. During the pandemic, Kelly did the teacher truck — one of her favorite memories.

She said on Fridays, she would drive the truck around Pacific Grove and do arts and crafts out of the back with the kids to help build a trusting relationship with them outside of a screen.

“We did arts and crafts out of the back of a truck because the kids couldn’t come to school,” she said. “Doing the teacher truck during COVID brought a connection between the students and myself and then also we got to do a super fun activity, which was always really exciting, so something they always looked forward to is that personal contact during COVID.”

Kelly’s involvement doesn’t end with the school day. She has worked to develop relationships with both her students and their parents outside of the classroom.

Kelly said that especially after the pandemic, there has been a shift in parental interaction in the classroom. While parents use to volunteer more regularly, the nuance with needing to be fingerprinted and background checked may make it a little harder, Kelly said. “There’s not as many parents that are available to help out, whether they’re working or just have other stuff going on in their life. I would say after COVID, I’ve definitely seen a shift in that, which has really allowed me the opportunity to work a little bit harder at making sure we have those connections,” she said.

“I think that the thing that I learned that’s most important is that involving families in our community, our classroom community; it’s really, really important when kids come to school in TK or in kindergarten,” she said.

Kelly’s current group of students is a rollover class — kindergarteners that she taught in TK the previous year — but she said getting the families involved in TK was really important “so they felt connected to the community and connected to our school.”

One thing she has done to help connect the parents is a mom’s night out once a month, where they come to the school and get a chance to get to know each other.

“We try to do other activities that parents can kind of get to know each other and feel part of the school community, but also feel like they’re part of our class,” she said. “And I think that’s been really magical.”

Kelly also makes the effort to see her students doing their extracurriculars and things that are important to them — something she has done since she first started teaching.

“It’s important for the kids to know that I’m not just their person at school, but I’m their person in their life to support them in what they do,” she said.

Her students love it, too.

“When they come to school, they’re part of the school world, and then when I go into their world, it’s to get to see what they do outside of school. Some of the kids take gymnastics, so I’ve been over to see gymnastics and t-ball, so I go see their t-ball games. If they do ballet or they have a recital for a musical instrument, I try to get over there to go see them and be a part of their life outside of school,” she said.

“When I show up, the kids just beam with excitement … I’m doing what’s important to them because I’m a part of their world. I’m not making them a part of my world.”

Another thing Kelly does for holidays is have the kids make a model of themselves on paper to take home, then she’ll “sneak around to their houses and drop off a treat.” She mentioned she’s done it at the beginning of the year, a leprechaun and Easter one in the spring, and a gingerbread house in the winter.

“It’s that magical part of just being young where you believe in these things that are fun and really exciting,” she said. “I think those are ways that I want to be a part of their life. … it’s fun to drive around town and see the little gingerbreads or their things on their door.”

One of Kelly’s favorite things about teaching in Pacific Grove is watching her students grow up, because she gets to see them over and over again.

“I think that so many times we look at kids and we think they’re just heading down the wrong track or this or that,” she said. “And just to really be able to open your eyes and say it’s their journey. They get to choose this road for themselves, and my job is to love them every single step of the way regardless of where they’re at and their lives.”

Keeping the connections she’s built with her students is really important to Kelly, even as they grow up and go through the school system.

“I had kids that were in fifth grade last year, really struggling, and they would come down to TK just for a hug or just to be able to hang out with us and just, and they really just needed a place to fit in … I really learned a lot about loving these kids through the stages of their life because that’s the most important; that people feel accepted and cared for and respected and loved is so important.”

Kelly also wanted to highlight the importance of her classroom team.

“I am not a one woman show, and without the teamwork of my co-teachers Mrs. (Caroline) Wade, Mrs. (Jennifer) Ross and Mrs. (Katie) Wrolstad, I would not be who I am in and out of the classroom,” she later said in an email to the Herald. “I am so grateful for the love and support of my family for the many hours I spend outside of school hours attending plays, sporting events, dance recitals, home visits, lemonade stands and any other activities my Kinder Otters engage in. This job takes a village and I work hard to build a classroom community for the families and teachers.”

Having adult, positive people in her life has been instrumental, Kelly said, expressing her gratitude for her fellow teachers and the parents.

“I have such a grateful heart. I’m so grateful for the families that I have in my classes, always,” she said. “I’m just so grateful that families show up for their kids and that they love their kids enough to show up and their willingness to always help.”